A look at changes made to Louisiana’s criminal justice laws

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana lawmakers have rewritten the state’s criminal justice laws in an effort to shrink the prison population and keep inmates from returning once they leave. Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the changes into law Thursday. The bills have a variety of aims:

Less Time Behind Bars

Probation and parole eligibility will be expanded, primarily for those who committed non-violent crimes. The maximum probation length is being reduced for most nonviolent offenses from five years to three years.

First-time violent offenders will be eligible for parole after serving 65 percent of their sentence, rather than 75 percent.